Reintroduction Issue



Kenaf field in full bloom in New Mexico statistics for 200l, over 90% of U.S. farmland is used to produce five crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, hay and cotton). The small farmer (they are more oriented towards sustainability) cannot make a profit growing these crops. Alternative crops like kenaf are needed in order to diversify the farm acreage. If a broader selection of crops is grown, smaller farms can make a profit, because there won't be as many surpluses. <Enter kenaf> By introducing kenaf on a large scale, crop diversification will allow more farms to remain solvent because prices will stabilize when surpluses are reduced. Preserving small farms will insure more food is locally grown, and will preserve the choices we have as consumers. People who like to fish and hunt - Ray Fenner of S.W.A.N. reports that 84% of the trees cut in the State of Minnesota go for pulp and paper and oriented strandboard, all of which could be produced using kenaf. By substituting kenaf for paper production, the trees can be left standing for longer periods of time and can continue to provide the great benefits of watershed protection and animal habitat.		People who like forests- a walk in the woods beats a walk in the stumps, even on a rainy day. Industrial forestry is not a solution People who plan to procreate (and those that don't plan) - If you are going to have children, you want them to be healthy. You might also think about the kind of world we will be leaving to them Using kenaf not only saves trees, but growing kenaf uses substantially fewer chemicals than are used on most other crops, including many tree farms. Using fewer chemicals on kenaf means that the food crops that follow will be subjected to less residual chemicals. Because of our cleaner method of pulping and bleaching, we don't produce toxic dioxins. Toxic chemicals are linked to birth defects, and developmental problems. If you are going to have kids, you should be supporting kenaf. People who just want to see our species survive, people who support recycling, people who use paper to communicate - all should like kenaf paper.